India Floods Kill 56 in Uttar Pradesh, 12 Dead in Nepal

Floods and landslides have killed at least 56 people in India's Uttar Pradesh state and 12 in Nepal over three days, with dozens more injured and more than 1,000 houses damaged, according to state officials cited by Al Jazeera.

The deaths follow a depression that moved inland from the Bay of Bengal and intensified rainfall across a wide stretch of northern and eastern India, the office of Uttar Pradesh relief commissioner Hrishikesh Bhaskar Yashod said Sunday, per Al Jazeera's report citing AFP and Reuters.

How much rain fell in Uttar Pradesh?

Uttar Pradesh recorded 66.5mm (2.6 inches) of rain between Friday and Sunday morning, compared with a normal average of 7.6mm (a quarter of an inch) for the same period, according to the relief commissioner's office, as reported by Al Jazeera. That is roughly nine times the typical accumulation for the window. The commissioner's office described the event as "exceptionally heavy rain that has affected much of Uttar Pradesh." The state, home to more than 240 million people, is struck by rain and thunderstorms most years during the June-to-September monsoon, Al Jazeera noted, but the three-day toll of 56 dead and 46 injured marks one of the deadlier short-span episodes officials have logged this season. More than 1,000 houses were damaged in the same stretch, the commissioner's office said.

What is happening in Nepal?

At least 12 people have died in Nepal since Thursday in a fresh round of flooding and landslides, with several others missing, officials told Al Jazeera. The new deaths come roughly a month after a flood in late August killed more than 1,400 people in Nepal and left thousands missing, according to the same report. Nepali authorities have warned of possible flash floods in 49 of the country's 77 districts, with more than half of those districts facing high flooding or flash-flood risk as water levels rise in major rivers and tributaries. Power has been cut in the Manang, Mustang, Myagdi and Baglung districts, and the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation said crews are working to restore electricity. Flooding on the Rahuganga River damaged the structure and transmission-line towers of a 40-megawatt hydropower project, Water Resources and Energy Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha said, per Al Jazeera.

Why did Odisha evacuate 70,000 people?

In the eastern Indian state of Odisha, more than 70,000 residents of low-lying areas were evacuated after heavy downpours pushed rivers higher, Al Jazeera reported, citing the NDTV news network. The rains damaged bridges and culverts in the state, and officials closed Devkund, a popular tourist site, as a precaution. Odisha's evacuation figure is roughly 1,250 times the confirmed Nepal death toll from this three-day episode, a rough illustration of how much larger the preventive response has been compared with the confirmed casualty count so far.

Which rivers are above danger levels?

India's Central Water Commission said 30 river-monitoring stations across seven states were in a "severe situation," according to Al Jazeera's report. Major rivers including the Ganga, Gandak, Kosi, Bagmati and Narmada had risen above their danger levels as of the commission's assessment. Those five rivers span a large share of the Indo-Gangetic plain, meaning the flood risk tracked by the commission extends well beyond the two states reporting confirmed deaths.

What caused this monsoon surge?

The proximate driver, per the Uttar Pradesh relief commissioner's office, was a depression that formed over the Bay of Bengal and moved inland, intensifying rainfall as it tracked across the region. Depressions of this kind are a routine feature of the South Asian monsoon between June and September, but the volume recorded in Uttar Pradesh — nine times the seasonal norm for the three-day window — is the figure officials pointed to as evidence of the storm's severity. Al Jazeera's dispatch, filed with AFP and Reuters, did not report a specific date for the depression's landfall beyond noting it had "moved inland" ahead of the weekend rainfall spike.

"Exceptionally heavy rain that has affected much of Uttar Pradesh." — office of Uttar Pradesh relief commissioner Hrishikesh Bhaskar Yashod, via Al Jazeera

Glossary

Depression (meteorological): A low-pressure weather system, weaker than a cyclone, that can still generate heavy sustained rainfall as it moves inland.

Danger level: A river-specific gauge threshold set by hydrological authorities; water above this mark signals elevated flood risk for surrounding areas.

Monsoon season: The June-to-September period in South Asia when seasonal wind shifts bring the bulk of the region's annual rainfall.